How time flies. Only 3 months months ago we were making predictions and talking about this football team with the excitement of a kid in a candy store. Living with National Championship expectations each year is a futile and fruitless state of being, but that doesn't mean the fans are disappointed with this years Ohio State Buckeyes. At least, not with the players.

Jim Tressel has fantastic numbers. He has won over 81% of his games at Ohio State. He's 3-3 in BCS games. Just the mere fact that he's about to go to his 7th BCS bowl game in 9 seasons makes it sound ridiculous when you try to criticize his coaching style. That said, Jim Tressel is not a good play-caller. A good coach? Sure. A good recruiter? Sure. A good man? Positively. His conservative style mirrors coaches from years past(Woody's' three yards and a cloud of dust). Now, that style of play-calling is costing Ohio State wins, and leaving them ill prepared against elite competition. While Ohio State finds themselves back in the Rose Bowl for the first time in over a decade - it's becoming painfully obvious that Jim Tressel's coaching style hurts in big games. It doesn't even have to be a big game; a close game will suffice.

Nobody thought that Alcorn St. would pose much of a threat last night in the Schott. Of course, nobody thought the Dolphins of LeMoyne would beat Syracuse last week either. The difference is that this was not an exhibition, and the Buckeyes would have no trouble at all.

The Bucks cruised to a 100-60 win in front of a sparse, generously counted 11,000 Buckeye fans. It must have be two for one night in Columbus. Everyone counts as two. Apparently, the campus is busy tailgating for Iowa..... and Michigan.

The New Mexico State Aggies had 850,000 reasons to come to Ohio Stadium on Saturday. I guess a near-million bucks eases the pain of a 45-0 drubbing. If nothing else - the Aggie players got some nice pictures of 'The Shoe'.

The most important thing for the Buckeyes was to get better and stay healthy. They accomplished one out of two. Aaron Pettrey suffered a knee injury when he was blatantly and illegally blocked below the waist on the kick-off team. The hit was not flagged, and is only one of a number of cheap shots that have been egregiously ignored by BigTen officials in recent weeks. I don't know what's worse; getting cheap shots from the competition, or the officials not throwing the flag. Two weeks ago it was chop blocks and hands to the face by the Purdue offensive and defensive lines. Last year, it was a below-the-waste crack-back block on Jermale Hines at Northwestern. Many times these illegal shots result in injuries. The BigTen needs to address the issue.